Tuesday, February 26, 2013

2009 Gentlemen's Agreement Heathcote Viognier; 2011 Bridgewater Mill Adelaide Hills Chardonnay; 2011 Bird in Hand Pinot Rosé; 2012 Airdre.450; Ashton Hills



As a change from the $10-or-under wines from Dan Murphy's in Lismore, I decided to try a random selection for under $15.

The best of this chance choice as a 2009 Gentlemen's Agreement Heathcote Viognier. Viognier for me is the Chardonnay you have when you're not having Chardonnay. It's fruity (apricot-y) and has depth with a warm, creamy mouthful. Oddly enough, when I looked closely at the label, it as a wine made for Dan Murphy's by Bruce Tyrrell. The label perhaps should have been an indication: black print on parchment white, with imitative handwriting on the back.

I picked up a 2011 Bridgewater Mill, Adelaide Hills, Chardonnay thinking it as a Bethany, with a little voice inside telling me that it was cheap for Bethany. Never ignore that little voice. Nevertheless this as a very pleasant, drinkable Chardonnay.

The rest of my chance choices were forgettable, including a more expensive ($20) 2011 Bird in Hand Pinot Rosé which friends had said was good. That little, ignorable voice was telling me they may have meant the sparkling. And one of my sisters was coming to stay, and we usually compete over finding good Rosés. But it was undistinguished.

Taking that sister to Ballina airport meant stopping at Aldi to pick up supplies. The Ballina Aldi has a small liquor outlet. I expected to find exotics like a South African Chenin Blanc, but found a Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills, 2012 Airdre.450, Airdre meaning altitude, for under $5, made for Aldi. This, also, was very drinkable.

I keep chasing what is now a mythic Adelaide Hills Chardonnay made by Ashton Hills, that I drank with my partner and mother and father, not long before my father's death, at the Uraidla Aristologist (once upon a time, too, run by the famous foodies Michael Symons & Jenifer Helliers). If you ever see an Ashton Hills (a rare sight!), do try it: they're delicious, stunning, and unforgettable.


 

 

 

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